independent_tre

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Posts by independent_tre

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  42

  I Saw My Mother's Time Slip

  by StAnn in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i took my mother a plate of food today, thanksgiving dinner.

  she won't cook it because it's, well, thanksgiving, but she was sitting there waiting for me to bring her a plate of turkey and dressing.

  i came in and said, "mom, i brought you some food.

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  independent_tre

  Before I got baptized, I left the JW's and became sort of rebellious as a teenager and young adult. My mom would attempt to counsel me and I wouldn't listen to any of it. To me it was if she wasn't really trying to connect with me at all, or find out how I felt about certain things and her counsel was always full of quoting one scripture or another. For some reason, I never felt connected to her, only judged by her. When I was going through some issues, I always received some stern WT-ish counsel and she always stated why I needed to come back to the 'truth'. I could never put my finger on why my mother and I never seemed to have a close mother-daughter relationship and why I never listened to her 'counsel' or take the letters she wrote me very seriously. ( The letters she wrote always were mailed to me wrapped around a watchtower or awake mag, and full of quoted scriptures).

  Looking back, I can probably guess why. Because she was counting time. That was always the end goal. Not to help me through my personal problems ( which I had a lot) or even really listen and open up to me ( she rarely did this, and I know very little about her own personal feelings). It was always preaching - WT style. And I'm quite sure she racked this up with all of her other witness activities, including the letter writing. The whole 'counting time' thing is crazy and I would feel very uncomfortable if she did this now, as I'm trying my best to fade out of this god forsaken religion. Counting time was was of the very first things that struck my as very wrong and unscriptural. Those who are devout live their lives by the JW clock and I don't blame my mom, this is all she has been taught - that this is the only way that shows that you love someone, if you preach to (at) them.
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  29

  What is the reason that the WTS uses for not celebrating Thanksgiving

  by insearchoftruth in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  well i overheard my wife last night on the phone telling someone she does not celebrate thanksgiving, i have asked her in the past why and she gave the stock answer about how holidays are rooted in paganism.

  well from what i know, there is nothing pagan about the thanksgiving celebration, what is the official reason that is given for not celebrating this?

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  independent_tre

  There are a lot of 'friends' on the fence about this one, some will join wordly family for meals, others will condemn those that do. OTOH, I agree that if they're going to ban celebrating every holiday, even those that don't have pagan roots, then why don't they make up some of their own. The bible has many accounts of different celebrations, special days, etc, etc...
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  7

  Escape from Jonestown

  by truthsetsonefree in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  fyi everyone, cnn is doing a very informative show called escape from jonestown.

  it may repeat later.. isaac.

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  independent_tre

  ^^^ That video is going into my favorites... very many similarities to the JW's from the guilt tripping to the us vs. them mentality.
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  7

  Escape from Jonestown

  by truthsetsonefree in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  fyi everyone, cnn is doing a very informative show called escape from jonestown.

  it may repeat later.. isaac.

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  independent_tre

  I watched when it aired Thursday and was very saddned and depressed after hearing the audio tape of the children crying out in pain as they were being poisoned. And you can hear this sick bastard ( J Jones) telling the crying children to be quiet and die with dignity. I was in disbelief that people can be led so blindly and have their minds controlled so much, that when given instructions to kill their children and babies, they do it willingly. Very scary and very sad.

  And while this case was extreme, it provides a wake up call to anyone placing their faith in any human or human organization, willing to die and sacrifice human life at the command of men. The blood issue of JW's reminds me of this.
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  18

  How I was appointed C.O.

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you have never served out of this country or spent any time preaching in another country, you may have certain ideas of how a c.o.

  behaves and talks and acts.

  what is the youngest c.o.

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  independent_tre

  Bonafide, thanks for sharing your story. Many of us r&f have no idea of how men are appointed to "take the lead". I always thought it took years of experience as an elder and at least some maturity beyond a twentysomething young man. Your story illustrates how much heirarchy, obedience and organization are really focused on, as opposed to how first century christians worshipped. I know how angry and disappointed I felt learning the truth about the truth, and I had only been in a few years. How did/do you handle it after all those years of service and leadership? How did you come to know this wasn't 'truth'?
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  16

  No children until the new system---Has this changed?

  by Iwonder17 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have noticed that the "wait until the new system for children" montra has seemed to go away in the past few years from the wt.

  i am thinking that they realized that if the dubs stop having children, then they will stop growing in numbers.

  as a result, they have stopped putting in writing that the dubs should wait to have children.

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  independent_tre

  A married pioneer at our hall recently had a baby, but all throughout her pregnancy, she kept at how unexpected and unplanned the pregnancy was. She was almost apologetic to everyone about getting pregnant. So while I don't think it's in print, I think the pressure or expectation to remain child-free still permeates many congregations.
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  31

  Remember when .....?

  by RR in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  found this at the bottom of a box ..... not actual size .

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  independent_tre

  Yep, I was a kid and my grandma would take us. I'd always get the chocolate puddings and the half Shastas
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  43

  Boring bookstudy book...which one was the worst?

  by White Dove in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i remember the old timers saying that the red babylon book was the hardest to understand.. in my memory, i'd have to say the isaiah books and daniel book were the most involved and boring.. the revelation book had gorgeous pictures in it (the writing was horribly boring), so i just looked at them, and i was 22 at the first study of it!.

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  independent_tre

  ewww...def. the Isaiah books, and the Daniel book as the runner up.

  I forget which book had the multicolored statue that has some prophetic stuff about the rulers of the world. I was sitting there thinking, 'where in the world do they come up with this crap?'
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  73

  As of tomorrow I will no longer be a JW

  by passwordprotected in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  after my last post where i asked for advice on how to handle whether i should tell an elder that we've been going to church, i decided to tell a local elder who's related to me through marriage.

  this was to save my dad having to 'report' me (i'd told my dad we go to church).

  anyway, i had an interesting chat with him and he said some very personally revealing things re.

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  independent_tre

  Hi and congrats on your new found freedom. I'm happy that your meeting with the elders went the way it did. Many of the people we've known and loved throughout the years are still in and simply blinded. Hopefully, you were able to plant seeds of doubt through your testimony or at least 'fertilize' the ones that may already be there.

  Much success to you and your family on your newfound freedom in Christ. Take care.
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  18

  Do the beliefs of JW's actually improve the quality of their lives?

  by gaiagirl in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do the beliefs common to jw's cause them to have a happier worldview and a better outlook on life?

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  independent_tre

  Ignorance is bliss. JW tend to believe that they will survive the great A, which is always imminent, and that they have the solution to most of life's problems. A person who believes they have that solution without carefully examining the teachings may be truly unaware that this is all built on falsehood.

  On the other hand, the burden placed on them by the WTS is too great a stressor and many times it robs them of life's simple joys, such as gathering with family without restrictions or associating with neighbors and people at work. Add to that the treadmill of activity, and the constant pressure to do more, then you have one very tired, unhappy, socially inept person who fools himself into believing that JW's are the happiest people on earth. Smile